Cellular Starlink Beta Also Includes a Taste of T-Mobile's 5G Network

(Credit: T-Mobile)

T-Mobile's cellular Starlink beta will not only give users on rival carriers a taste of the company’s satellite connectivity but also function as a free trial for T-Mobile’s 5G network.

"The wait is almost over," T-Mobile said in a Wednesday email to those who signed up for free beta access to the cellular Starlink service. “Our phone partners have been hustling to get more phones satellite-optimized, and in just a couple weeks, you’ll be invited to the beta."

It then teases a few "extras" that come with the beta access, including "50GB of high-speed data and unlimited texts."

That’s an interesting wrinkle, especially for customers on rival carriers. They'll get the chance to test-drive T-Mobile's regular cellular network, and potentially switch if they like the experience.

T-Mobile already offers a three-month free trial with 50GB of premium mobile data. The deal is conveniently available if your phone supports eSIMs, which let you download the free trial through a digital SIM card that can operate with your existing provider. The cellular Starlink beta is also available to those on rival carriers via eSIM.

In its email, T-Mobile notes that beta users get “benefits like $5 movie tickets, 25% off concert tickets, travel discounts, and T‑Mobile Tuesdays for free stuff and great perks every week.”

The news underscores T-Mobile's efforts to push Starlink beta testers on rival carriers over to T-Mobile. Last month, it dangled a free year of cellular Starlink connectivity for customers who ditched their carrier for T-Mobile. Last week, the company also lowered the price of the cellular Starlink service to $10 per month for both T-Mobile customers and users on rival carriers.

For now, SpaceX has exclusively partnered with T-Mobile in the US. AT&T and Verizon are working on their own satellite connectivity plans by partnering with Texas-based startup AST SpaceMobile. However, AST might need another year or two before it has enough satellites to deliver space-based connectivity to users on the ground.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
Xbox 360 FTW
The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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